Bet Torah cares about supporting parents in the sacred and challenging task of raising Jewish teens into adulthood. In this learning series, parents will engage in discussion with Lead Teen Educator Robin Wald to create understanding around a range of important teen issues, Jewish wisdom and values around those issues, mindful parenting skills, and resources to help parents and teens be happy, healthy and successful.

Please register below. Include which sessions you will be attending in the notes.

The last session will be on ZOOM - link above.

Session 1: Monday, January 30th 7:45-9 pm | Teen Risk-Taking and Growing from Failure

It can be scary or painful for parents to watch teens take risks or experience failure. In this session, we will explore the kinds of risks teens engage in, and the neuroscience around why and how risk and failure are essential for teen development into adulthood. We will also explore Jewish values and wisdom around risk, caution, success, and failure. As a parent, how can you better understand and support your teen(s) to take smarter, healthier risks? How might you celebrate your teens' failures (and your own) as opportunities for learning, resilience, and growth?

Session 2: Wednesday, March 1st 7:45-9 pm | Teen Stress, Anxiety and Wellness

In our post-covid, complex contemporary world, teens are struggling with stress, anxiety, body image issues, substance use/abuse, and other physical, mental, and emotional health issues at unprecedented rates. In this session, we will engage in conversation about what parents need to understand about teen stress, Jewish wisdom and values around safeguarding health, and introduce cognitive/behavioral/mindfulness tools to help our teens (and ourselves) manage and reduce anxiety and promote wellness.

Session 3: Tuesday, April 25th 7:45-9 pm | Teen Identity, Gender, and Sexuality

Teens explore their identity in many ways – through fashion, hair, academic interests, extracurriculars, gender, sexuality, social groups, hobbies, music, substance use, Jewishness and more. As a parent, you may struggle to understand some of your teen’s choices, especially when they differ from or challenge your own. In this session, we will explore the ways Jewish wisdom and values encourage teens to explore their individuality, non-conformity, and grow into their authentic self. How can parents positively support teen identity exploration? What do parents need to understand about gender identity, expression, and allyship for LGBTQ youth?